During production of circuit boards, various circuit components are placed onto the board and then soldered in place. It is possible at various stages of the process for faults to occur in relation to some of these circuit components. For example, components may not be properly grasped by the machinery which places them on the circuit board and may therefore be missing. Components may also move from the correct position prior to or during soldering such that the components are not properly connected.
It is of course desirable to identify such faults. Visual inspection may be used to identify such issues, however when looking at a large number of components across many boards, it is possible that some faults may not be detected. The fact that a fault exists is likely to be detected by incorrect operation of the board but the process of testing and identifying faults from this paint can be time consuming.
The present invention relates to a method for identifying potential faults on circuit boards in a manner which is relatively quick and efficient.